GAO denies HII challenge

The Government Accountability Office denied protests by Huntington Ingalls Industries and VT Halter Marine, both of Pascagoula, Miss., challenging a decision by Coast Guard to award three contracts for preliminary and contract design of its Offshore Patrol Cutter to Bath (Maine) Iron Works; Bollinger Shipyards of Lockport, La.; and Eastern Shipbuilding Group of Panama City, Fla. Each of the preliminary design contracts is valued at about $22 million. The decision addresses both the initial protests, and supplemental issues raised by the companies. The Coast Guard announced its decision June 4, but was not made public. The GAO decision was issued under a protective order. The CG plans to pick a single yard to move on to detail design and construction. (Source: Navy Times 06/05/14) Bollinger has built a number of CG cutter classes; and is producing Sentinel-class fast response cutters. Eastern is a relatively new shipyard with concentrations in commercial shipbuilding. The OPC award is its first government contract. HII builds large cutters for the CG and is the most prolific builder of Navy ships. VT Halter specializes in small ship construction and builds ships for several government agencies.